5 Key Principles of Front-End Web Design You Should Follow

Designing a website is more than just putting together some pretty pictures and cool fonts. It’s about creating an experience for your visitors that make them want to come back again and again. Good web …

Designing a website is more than just putting together some pretty pictures and cool fonts. It’s about creating an experience for your visitors that make them want to come back again and again. Good web design should focus on usability, which means making sure your site is easy to use no matter what device or browser visitors are viewing it on—from mobile phones to tablets to desktop computers. And there are 5 key elements of web design that your Campbell web designer, or from anywhere else, should be aware of:

  1. Focus on the content

The content is king. The reason people come to your site is to read, learn and consume information. Without it, there is no point in having a website at all.

Content makes your site unique from other sites like yours that offer similar products or services. It helps you stand out from the crowd and gives readers an incentive for coming back again and again because they know that no one else has exactly what you do.

  1. Create effective navigation

Navigation is one of the most important elements of your website. It’s also one of the most neglected. Navigation should be easy to find and easy to use, but it can also be used as an opportunity to create an experience that feels unique and adds value for visitors.

The best navigation systems are:

  • Consistent throughout your site–if you have multiple pages on a single domain (like http://www1/, http://www2/, etc.), make sure that all of these pages’ navigational components look similar so users don’t get confused about where they are in relation to other parts of your site or what content might be available elsewhere on it.
  • Visible at all times–navigation shouldn’t take up too much space visually but still needs enough room so that it doesn’t get lost amidst other page elements like ads or images when someone scrolls down through content (or up from footer sections). This can be accomplished through careful positioning within either horizontal or vertical layouts.
  1. Make your site easy to use

You’re probably already familiar with most of the front-end web design principles, but it’s important to remember that they are not all created equal. Some are more important than others and some can be tweaked to fit your needs.

Make your site easy to use – This means using common elements like buttons, links, and forms; using consistent terminology and language; making sure your site is easy to navigate (including providing clear call-to-actions); having a responsive design so that users can access content from any device or browser without having issues accessing what they need on the page.

  1. Choose a design style that works for you
  • Choose a style that fits your brand.
  • Choose a design that is easy to maintain.
  • Choose a design that is easy to update.
  • Choose a design that is easy to use, or at least make it as simple as possible for users by using common conventions and patterns when possible (e.g., buttons are always on the right side of forms). * Don’t forget about accessibility! Accessibility needs to be baked into every step of the process from start to finish; this includes things like making sure there are keyboard shortcuts for navigating around your site without having to use your mouse all the time, adding alt text for images so people who use screen readers can understand them better, etcetera ad infinitum (and ad nauseam).
  1. Always keep it simple
  • Keep it consistent.
  • Keep it clean.
  • Make sure that your website is easy to use, read and navigate through.

Good web design is more about usability than anything else

Usability is the ease with which a user can perform tasks on a website, and it’s an important part of any website’s success. If your site is difficult to use, people are going to be frustrated by it and leave. They might not even know why they’re frustrated; they just won’t want to spend time on your site anymore because they can’t get what they need from it quickly and easily.

That means that you need good usability if you want people coming back again and again (and buying things!).

Conclusion:

We hope that by now, you have a good sense of what makes a site successful. Good web design is more about usability than anything else. The best sites are easy to use, intuitive, and engaging–and they always look great. Work with your Los Gatos graphic designer and web designer and ensure that they follow these key principles so that you are getting the ideal result in the end.